COVID-19 Update:

Please do not visit emergency departments unless you have medical needs that warrant emergency care. Our emergency departments are seeing record volume with extraordinarily long waits. Please do not visit emergency departments if you are asymptomatic or mildly sick or are only seeking a COVID-19 test. The emergency department is a place for true emergencies, such as difficulty breathing, severe bleeding, severe accidents, heart attacks, strokes, gunshots and other major wounds. Using the emergency department for care other than emergencies takes precious resources away from patients in need of lifesaving care. As a community, we need to ensure the people who need Ochsner’s care can receive it. Please use at-home tests or community testing sites to seek COVID-19 tests, and the COVID-19 Self Care and Symptom Monitoring Program if possible. A positive at-home test does not need to be confirmed in an Ochsner emergency room, and a visit to the emergency department will result in an emergency department bill, which is far more expensive than an at-home COVID-19 test.

If you do not need emergency medical care, please visit ochsner.org/testing for testing locations, where you will be billed only for testing, not an emergency room visit.

Please remember that staffing is still a significant challenge for Ochsner and healthcare systems around the country. We thank you for your patience.